Category: Aviation

The virtual airplane window also incorporates touchless technlogy.

by Francesca Street

Looking out the cabin window and seeing cities and oceans from above is, for many of us, one of the joys of flying.

But aviation innovators Rosen Aviation reckon this experience could be taken to the next level, rendering actual airplane windows obsolete.

The American aviation company is touting its Maverick Project airplane cabin design as the next frontier of inflight experience. A key part of the package? Virtual windows.

“The Maverick Project was born from trying to bring tomorrow’s technology into tomorrow’s plane,” says Lee Clark, Rosen’s senior VP for strategy.

Clark tells CNN Travel that while some of these features have become more common on the ground in recent years — think smart homes — airplane cabins haven’t really caught up.

“The Maverick Project originated because the industry at large is somewhat lagging behind the domestic, residential and automotive worlds,” he says.

Rosen, working in collaboration with KiPcreating and Sky-Style, wants to change this dynamic with the Maverick Project.

But while the visual renderings look flashy, Clark says the goal isn’t to go high tech simply for the sake of it.

“The critical piece is it’s about the passenger experience, it’s not about the technology,” says Clark.

Continue reading… “Air travel’s future may include virtual cabin windows – take a look”

After 50 years of sporadic development, Bell thinks it can build a survivable, long-range, high-speed, VTOL aircraft adapted to tomorrow’s wars. 

Bell has provided The War Zone with exclusive details about its recently revealed concepts for future High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing, or HSVTOL, aircraft, which we looked at initially in this previous article. While being able to takeoff and land vertically using rotors and fly at jet speeds in forward flight sounds far-fetched, it turns out that there is decades of elaborate risk reduction work and general research already done on this exact concept. As such, actually realizing such a capability set may be far less of a technological revolution than one would think at first glance. 

The War Zone sat down, virtually at least, with Jeff Nissen, Senior Manager Advanced Technology at Bell Flight, to talk about how the company has got to this point in its HSVTOL endeavors, as well as looking at some of the details of its latest concepts and how they could find a place in the U.S. military’s inventory.

Continue reading… “Bell’s Plan To Finally Realize A Rotorcraft That Flies Like A Jet But Hovers Like A Helicopter”

· by Otilia Drăgan

Supersonic flight is old news, hypersonic is the future – we could be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes sooner that we might think. Plus, the line between military and civilian applications is also getting blurred. Game-changing technology is not only available for top defense projects, but can serve a dual purpose and bring forth benefits that we can all enjoy. 

If you were impressed by Virgin Galactic’s Mach 3 speed, hear this – there’s another hypersonic aircraft on the block, that takes it up to 5. That’s more than 3,800 mph (6,100 km/h), meaning that it could get from New York to London almost 7 times faster than current commercial airlines. 

The small team at Hermeus Corporation, a Georgia-based aerospace start-up, wanted to develop a groundbreaking Mach 5 commercial aircraft, and they already scored partnerships with none other than NASA and the U.S. Air Force(USAF). After successfully demonstrating their Mach 5 engine last year, now it’s time for another milestone, flight testing this cutting-edge aircraft, under a $60 million contract with USAF.

Not too many details have been revealed about the Quarterhorse, other that it will become the world’s fastest aircraft (flying at Mach 5 hypersonic speeds), it will be fully reusable, and it will also be autonomous (with the option of being remotely piloted), with an outstanding 4,600-mile (7,403 km) range. 

Continue reading… “USAF Pumps $60 Million in Quarterhorse, the Future 4,000 mph Autonomous Aircraft”

Cars could be taking to the air towards the end of this decade, according to Michael Cole, chief executive for European operations at world-leading South Korean automaker Hyundai.

Addressing a conference organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a trade association for the UK motor industry, Cole said that Hyundai has made some “very significant investments” in urban air mobility.

However, it will take some time before these plans get off the ground, he said.

Continue reading… “All roads lead to flying cars by 2030”

Image: Airspeeder

By Lauren Rouse

We are officially living in the future because the world’s first flying race car has just taken off.

Airspeeder announced that its remotely piloted Alauda Mk3 models have taken their first successful flight. The eVTOLs are being tested in anticipation of electric flying car races that will be held later in the year.

Continue reading… “The World’s First Flying Race Car Has Taken Off”

Japan Supersonic Research wants to be in the air by 2030

By Laura Dobberstein

Japan has a assembled a supergroup of aviation, industrial, and space organisations to build a supersonic passenger jet.

The new organisation, Japan Supersonic Research (JSR), quietly signed itself into existence on March 31st. Yesterday, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that it is a member, alongside Japan Aircraft Development Association, Japan Aerospace Exploration Association, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries), IHI Corporation, and Subaru.

Japan’s aerospace industry currently focuses on manufacturing components for aircrafts and engines, including wings and fuselages. Mitsubishi recently hangared plans to build its own mid-size passenger jet. Another more successful exception is Subaru’s joint manufacturing deal for the Bell 412 helicopter, sold locally in modified versions called the Subaru Bell 412EPX and XUH-2.

JSR’s vision is to engage in international joint development of supersonic aircraft by 2030.

Continue reading… “Japan assembles superteam of aircraft component manufacturers to build supersonic passenger plane”

An MQ-25 refuels an F/A-18. 

By Ryan Pickrell

• A drone has refueled a US Navy fighter jet for the first time, the Navy said Monday.
• Boeing’s MQ-25 provided refueled an F/A-18 Super Hornet on Friday.
• The drone will extend the reach of carrier-based fighters as the Navy changes the way it fights.

An unmanned tanker aircraft has successfully refueled a US Navy carrier-based fighter jet for the first time, the Navy announced Monday.

A Boeing MQ-25 Stingray test drone refueled an F/A-18 Super Hornet on Friday near MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, demonstrating that the new unmanned aircraft “can fulfill its tanker mission,” the Navy said.

Continue reading… “The US Navy’s new pilotless tanker plane just refueled an aircraft carrier fighter jet for the first time, and this is what it looked like”